He's definitely not a friendly ghost!
Jokes and humor aside, the show had some decidedly dark moments that presented both realistic dangers and Surreal Horror to the scene for the main character and her family.- In "A Hero for Halloween', the Prouds come under attack by the ghost of Garrett Krebs (as seen in the page image). Krebs was once the owner of the Proud house, but thirty years prior on Halloween, the house was repossessed, and Krebs died of a heart attack the same day. Since then, he swore he'd return every ten years as a ghost to scare away any family who dared to move into his house. The tenant who sold Oscar the house actually sold it to him for a cheap price without telling him because Krebs scared him away and out of guilt he returned to warn Oscar and his family to flee since Garret was returning again after ten years. As expected, Oscar didn't listen and Krebs showed up with Oscar thinking he was the magician he'd previously hired due to his supernatural feats before Krebs revealing himself and planning on killing the Prouds for being happy and having everything he never had in his house. That includes infants like BeBe and CeCe. If it wasn't for Penny saving the family at the last minute, Krebs would have killed the cast for sure.
- The scene where Krebs reveals himself is preceded by Oscar asking, if Trudy's magician had only just arrived, then who did he let into the house earlier. At which point the party comes to a screeching halt and everyone turns to the so-called magician, leading to the page image above.
- A downplayed example of Paranoia Fuel was shown in "Culture Shock" where Penny exchanges places with for a short time and befriends a Muslim girl whose family is every bit as dysfunctional-yet-loving as hers, despite living by conventional Arabian rules and etiquette, such as fasting during Ramadan. However, in the end, their house is vandalized, complete with graffiti saying "Go back home, towelheads!" (changed to "Go back to your country!" in reruns) Although Penny delivers a moving anti-racism speech at a school assembly, the vandals are never caught (nor do we know who did it) and and no one -- besides Penny -- brings it up again. This can hit pretty close to home for viewers who have experienced ethnic and religious discrimination, particularly Muslim viewers.
- Al Roker of all people ends up being pretty unsettling in this show. Especially since instead of being a benign newscaster and weatherman, he's a Faux Affably Evil Jerkass Genie devil-like contract-making character who antagonizes Penny twice. The first time, "Tween Town", he made all the adults in town disappear to be used as slaves to make his personal Al Roker brand merchandise and nearly kept them (and Bebe and Ce Ce as collateral) forever if not for Bobby still being around due to being a Manchild. The second time, "Twins to Tweens", was to make up for his first wish by higher powers but typically, he turns an unintentional wish Penny makes to make BeBe and CeCe older into a literal one. Both times, he's defeated through Loophole Abuse.
- In "It Takes a Thief", Suga Mama and Penny walk the very, very, very long road up to Wizard Kelly's estate. At one point on the way, Suga Mama complains about her bunions. She removes her shoe and holds up her foot, her bunions form mouths and start screaming.
- In "Who You Callin' a Sissy?", Michael undergoes a monster transformation after suppressing his inner angst over being referred to and bullied as a sissy (aka homosexual) in front of his friends, having his locker vandalized, and being rejected by LaCienega to the school dance, during which he becomes a giant monstrous hulking version of himself with glowing red eyes and a booming dark voice. It's so terrifying that he horrifies even the Gross Sisters!
- Chester the Duck proves to be heavy Nightmare Fuel in "Psycho Duck" as he’s Donald Duck on steroids, where he's adopted by Penny and slowly becomes more dangerous until he manages to take over the whole household. When Felix and Bobby tried to kidnap and drop off Chester in Canada, he broke free, beat the two senseless, and then somehow managed to make his way back to the Proud house and beat them up some more. Not to mention to make an ungodly roar when Oscar stood up to him!
- The Talking Baby can also be pretty unsettling because of his strange appearance and unnaturally deep voice. The fact he goes out of his way to torment Oscar is pretty strange, as is the fact that he once led a bunch of babies to beat Oscar into traction ("Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thingy, Baby"). Not to mention his Evil Laugh.
- The Happy Endings Retirement Home in "Thelma and Luis". It starts out seeming like paradise and Papi is excited to be there. But then, when the families leave, the truth comes out: The whole retirement home is a front for an okra farm, wherein the elders are essentially enslaved by the domineering operator of the home, who puts on a front of being a kindly woman who cares for the elders when family comes to visit. It's so bad that Papi actually calls for Suga Mama to save him when he discovers the truth and is overjoyed when she arrives to bust him out. The worst part? While exaggerated, it's not completely unrealistic—there are abusive retirement homes out there, and the thought of one's parent or grandparent being abused and mistreated by the very people who are supposed to take care of them. Oh, and then there's the operator's reaction when she discovers that Suga Mama busted Papi out and escaped with him...Helga: No one escapes from Happy Endings. It's like a roach motel: Geezers check in...BUT THEY DON'T CHECK OUT! EVER!
